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Financial Aid Resources

Financial Aid and Scholarship Resources

Our mission is to provide access and advisory services to financial resources and scholarships that will help students to achieve their educational goals. We are dedicated to promoting scholarship opportunities that assist in making education affordable while maintaining compliance with established regulations, policies, procedures, and ethical standards set forth by the partner institutions. In addition, through memberships in professional organizations and collaborations with home institutions, we foster financial literacy through outreach programs to the students at USG.

Student Aid Report (SAR)

After your FAFSA has been processed, the Office of Federal Student Aid Programs will forward you a Student Aid Report (SAR) which provides a summary of the information you reported on the FAFSA. In addition, this report will list your "Expected Family Contribution," which is used by student financial aid offices to determine your financial aid eligibility. You should receive a SAR approximately four weeks after submitting your FAFSA to the federal processor.

Special Circumstances

Awarding of need-based financial aid is based upon a student's eligibility as determined by data recorded on the FAFSA. If, however, a student's available income has decreased due to special circumstances, they may qualify for certain adjustments to their eligibility and aid awards through a process known as "Professional Judgement." Please contact the USG Center for Student Engagement and Financial Resources for more information on this process.

Merit-Based Aid

We recommend students pursue all available merit-based scholarship opportunities provided by their home institution as well as by private organizations and donors. Students are encouraged to research and apply for such opportunities by searching the Web, public and school library resources, and by contacting their employers, area organizations, and community groups. Please refer to the Universities at Shady Grove Web site for links to several free Internet scholarship searches.

For More Information

For more information, students may contact the USG Center for Student Engagement and Financial Resources or the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. Students may also view more information on the following federal, state, and private resources:

Federal Work Study

Students who apply and qualify for a Federal Work-Study (FWS) award as part of their financial aid package may pursue FWS employment positions available onsite at USG. An array of positions is available in both the Student Services and Academic Program offices, including positions in office/clerical, computer support, student services, and other areas.

To participate in the FWS program, students must apply for financial aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and be awarded FWS through their home institution. For more information on how to apply or for job placement assistance, please contact the USG Center for Student Engagement and Financial Resources or a financial aid representative from your home institution. For more information, please email knguyen8@umd.edu.

Financial Aid & Scholarship Information for DACA and Undocumented Students

When applying to different aid programs, keep in mind that citizenship requirements can vary. Some aid programs have citizenship requirements, but others do not. Before applying, make sure to review the eligibility requirements of each aid program to determine if it requires U.S. citizenship status. Search for merit-based scholarships because most merit scholarships don't have any citizenship requirements. For more information, visit Undocumented Student Resources.

Resources

Words cannot describe how lucky I feel to be able to focus my attention on my classes and become more involved in the school community, rather than spending many hours working to fund my tuition and fees.